Tag Archives: terminal

vnstat is a simple command line utility for monitoring bandwidth usage in Ubuntu or any other Linux based distributions and BSD. It’s a very handy tool for keeping an eye on overall bandwidth usage on your system, especially if you’re accessing web over mobile network or you’re using ISP that reduces speed after a certain limit e.g 50 GB (FUP).

Features

very lightweight and efficient (low cpu usage regardless of traffic)

simple and easy to use (no configuration required)

it can monitor multiple interfaces simultaneously

multiple output options (daily, monthly etc)

Installing vnstat in Ubuntu/Linux

It’s already there in official package repository, all you need to do is open a terminal and type :

sudo apt-get install vnstat

As you install vnstat, it will start monitoring your internet traffic (default interface : eth0). Simply type vnstat to get an overview of actual bandwidth usage and the estimated usage for next day or month. It will also display the interface(s) it’s monitoring.

Fish is a friendly command line shell for Ubuntu/Linux, Mac or any other operating system from the *nix family. If you use bash (the default shell in Ubuntu) often, then you may want to give it a try. It has lots of smart features you may find productive.

Features

Autosuggestions – It suggests commands when you type, based on history and it’ll often save you some time with the commands you type more often.

Scripting – Similar to bash but the syntax is much simple, clean and consistent.

term256 – it supports 256 colors.

Sane defaults – Most of the features will work just fine without any additional configurations.

Installing Fish in Ubuntu

Fish is already there in official package repository (tested on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS). So, you can install it right away

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install fish

If it’s not available in repository or you’re using other Linux distribution ? Check out official page to download a tarball for your distribution.

To start fish, simply type fish on your terminal and you’ll jump into the fish shell. Type help and it will open the documentation tab (hosted locally) in your default browser. Also read official tutorials to learn more about the features of Fish Shell.

tmux is one of the most popular Terminal Multiplexer (never used it? If you’e a heavy terminal user, then probably you need it) . The latest release is v1.8.

Recently I wrote an article on managing multiple terminals with Terminator, tmux is a very similar program but I feel – tmux is more efficeint/faster, specially with vim (or any command line editor such as Emacs). So, whether you already use a similar program or not, you should try tmux.

Installing tmux on Ubuntu

sudo apt-get install tmux

Here is a screenshot (designing my personal blog with jekyll, I’ll launch in next few weeks) using tmux with vim editor.

Terminator is a cool application (oh! the movie is cool too) for managing multiple terminals in efficient way. If you’re dealing with a lot of terminal windows then you may want to try a Terminal Emulator such as Terminator, Yakuake, GNU Screen, Tmux etc.

I want 3+ terminals during rails development, and Terminator seems perfect for that – top left grid for running local server, top right for local or remote system, and the bottom one as the primary one (git, migrations, deployment etc), all in one window spitted as grids. It’s simply more efficient and fun.

Key features of Terminator

arrange terminals in grids or tabs

save profiles and layouts

lots of keyboard shortcuts

easy to use and customize

drag ‘n’ drop for re-arranging terminals and more!

Install Terminator in Ubuntu 12.10/12.04 / Linux Mint

Terminator is available in default package repository, so you just need to type :

Terminal Commands are cool and very handy sometimes (even for common users who don’t like terminal), also useful in learning some cool stuffs about Ubuntu or GNU/Linux in general (so it’s also good for learners).

I’ve prepared a list of few terminal commands – that anyone can learn and master (in couple of minutes), in order to enjoy a better experience with Ubuntu or other Linux distributions (and don’t worry about – the Ubuntu version you are using such as – 12.04 LTS – “Precise Pangolin” or 11.10 or may be the upcoming one – 12.10, because it doesn’t change often unlike the other things in Ubuntu :), same for Ubuntu derivatives such as Linux Mint 13(Maya)).

Top 17 commands for Ubuntu Beginners

Basics GNU/Linux Commands

#1. ls : list directory contents

ls

If you want to see hidden files/directories (beginning with dot.), the use -a flag.

ls -a

Check the manual for more detail (man ls).

#2. cd : Change Directory

cd ../
cd /home/Desktop

Remember,

. represents the current directory

.. represents the parent directory

~ represents the home directory (of the user)

#3. pwd : print the current/working directory

pwd
/home/Desktop/scripts

#4. mkdir : make/create directory.

mkdir funny_stuffs

#5. rm : remove/delete file/directory

rm useless.sh

NOTE : it removes directories only if it’s empty, unless you specify -f flag for force deletion. But you must be careful with the arguments such as -r, -f. (-rf is very dangerous).

#6. sudo : superuser do, to gain root privilege

e.g

sudo apt-get install gnome-shell

Then enter your user account password, and you would be able to do administrative tasks like root. So if you’re getting any permission error using a command, then adding sudo as a prefix, might help.

#7. mv : rename or move a file/directory

mv file1 ~/Downloads/Archive/

the above command will move the file from the current directory to target directory.

mv logo_2.jpg new_logo.jpg

it will rename the file to new_logo.jpg.

#8. cat : View File contents

cat install.log

#9. man : A Reference manual for utils/commands/programs

e.g if you want to know more about rm command, then type –

man rm

#10. cp : Copy Files/Directories

cp movie_name.mp4 ~/Downloads/movies/

The above command will copy the movie_name.mp4 to the specified directory.

#11. wget : Download files from server

GNU Wget or wget is very handy in downloading stuffs from internet, over the command line.

wget url_of_the_content

#12. gksudo : Run GUI Application with Root privilege

gksudo nautilus

The above command will open nautilus with root privilege. It’s just like sudo, but in GUI mode.

#13. shutdown : To shutdown the computer from terminal

shutdown -h

where time can be 0 if you want to shutdown now or specify the exact time such as 10:30.

#14. restart : Restart the computer

restart

Package Management

These are Ubuntu Specific commands. It Requires root privilege, so just add the sudo prefix before each command (it will ask for the user password and you’re done!).

#15. apt-get : Command Line Tool for handling packages
There are various options such as